See You Again
by SunlitSky21
Summary: (The greatest of people die too early. That is the sad truth of this world. And we are left behind, aching, sorrowful.) He was in a better place, Sasuke was sure of it. He just never thought that he would meet him again, in this way. It's been a long day without you my friend, and I will tell you all about it when I see you again.


**See You Again**

 **This is a companion fic to my other story, The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto.**

Uchiha Sasuke, former nuke-nin, murderer, avenger. there were many titles that one could give him. Avenger was the most appropriate, seeing that the man had dedicated his life to that goal.

When Sasuke killed Itachi, he felt...Numb. Hollow. like something inside of him, a part which he had been holding on to for as long as he could remember, was gone. The purpose of his life was over. or so he thought.

That Obito was a sly bastard for sure. Twisting his words, he forced Sasuke to become an avenger again. This time for his brother's suffering. The hate, the darkness, it had become a never ending cycle. It felt as if he was drowning in his own emotions.

Then came the war. And due to it Sasuke was a changed man. it is said that war brings out the worst in people. But the opposite was true too. It had brought out something in Sasuke which he had long forgotten. Love. Itachi, his ever so enigmatic elder brother, had been standing in front of him, albeit in a resurrected form. But there was no mistaking the kindness in his brother's eyes.

And when his brother vanished in a soft ethereal light, signifying his return to the pure land, Sasuke finally felt something.

He felt sorrow. He felt grief. He felt anger at this cruel world. And finally he felt understanding. He understood his brother fully and completely, for the first time in his life.

Mikoto had been right. Itachi truly was too kind.

With a new will, Sasuke decided to participate in the war. but this time for the right side.

Konoha was Itachi's legacy. he would see to it that no harm would come to his brothers greatest treasure. With this in mind, Sasuke resurrected the four kage.

The kage were different...To say the least. Hashirama acted like Naruto, if Naruto was a Senju, too much,sometimes. Tobirama was of a more calmer temperament and was analytical and cold.The sandaime was the same as he had remembered him to be. and the Yondaime...

Namikaze Minato was a gentle man. From his mannerisms to the way he held himself. But there was no mistaking the power thrumming underneath. This man was dangerous.

 _Then why was it that he felt a pang in his chest when he looked at the blonde?_

Minato reminded him of Naruto the most. the blonde hair and blue eyes were a dead giveaway of who this man was to Naruto. Both of them had a fire burning in their eyes. In Naruto, it was a blazing one, providing warmth and shining brightly in the darkness. However,Minato's eyes had a different kind of fire. A fire that was tempered and calm. It was more icy than hot.

The kage agreed to help. Sasuke arrived at the battlefield. And he saw _them_. And he had to ask himself _,why was his chest hurting and why did it feel so right to be there?_

His declaration of being hokage and the reaction had been priceless. Yet, it had also been nostalgic. It reminded him of simpler days. when they were but children, laughing joyously with all the ephemeral innocence that a child possesses.

When Obito was speaking, in his minds eye , Sasuke saw Naruto in place of Obito. Or what Naruto could have been, if he had allowed himself to drown in darkness as Sasuke did and still does

The battle was long and weary. And when Madara became the jinchuuriki, it seemed that all hope was lost. And then he appeared.

The sage of six paths. The man or for lack of a better term, god, had appeared in front of Sasuke claiming to give him power.

But for someone like Sasuke who had seen too much of the cruelty of the world, the underlying message was clear. There would be a price to pay as it always is with power.

Yin. spiritual energy. the very same energy which made the sharingan. For a sharingan was considered as the soul of an uchiha manifested in physical form.

How ironic it was for someone like Sasuke who had been described as soulless one too many times, to finally lose the physical manifestation of his soul.

But that idiot as always had interfered. he wouldn't just let Sasuke go, would he?

When team seven had been in the act of sealing Kaguya, Sasuke had felt a rush of chakra enter him. it was bright, warm like the first rays of sunshine after a long winter. And he felt that chakra surround a particular part of his body. And he knew that the blonde had done something outrageous again.

The battle in the valley of the end was spectacular. Enough to be considered as the stuff of legends. Sasuke had declared that he would unite the world, by giving them a single thing to hate.

"The world will always be cruel. True peace is impossible. This is all to protect Itachi's legacy," Sasuke had told himself.

 _But why then had he actually felt something stirring when the blond declared his friendship?_

The last rays of the evening sun shone upon the now destroyed valley of the end. The two friends, finally having stopped, lay exhausted and bloody on the stone of the broken statues.

Sasuke had turned to Naruto, who was lying beside him and asked him, uttering a single,"Why?"

Naruto grinned, in his ever so infuriating way.

"Just felt like it. Didn't give up on you then, not giving up on you now, Sasuke."

Sasuke, too overcame with emotion, had turned his head away and said, "idiot"

Sasuke knew all along the price of the sages power. But it was still hard, when Naruto bade goodbye.

 _It will always be hard. Nothing's ever going to change that,_ Sasuke thought.

When Naruto died, Sasuke had again felt emptiness. But this emptiness was a hole with aching edges. Edges that Burned. And it never disappeared. This was a pain which could not be forgotten but only faded.

Seven years had passed since that day. Seven years since this cold world had lost a pure soul.

Sasuke, now a young man of four and twenty, was reminiscing. About the past and the present.

 _Ah, look at me. Already thinking about my past just like an old geezer,_ thought Sasuke with a self deprecating chuckle.

It was a beautiful day. the skies were a perfect cloudless blue. The sunlight was warm and the breeze was gentle.

But to Sasuke, all of this appeared oh so muted. To him, the blues of the sky were not so blue anymore. Everything was unfocused, blurry.

 _Was this how Itachi saw the world? Through such an unclear sight. And yet his foresight was the clearest of any man,_ thought Sasuke

Seven years. That was how long Naruto had given him. Seven years until Sasuke lost the light of his eyes. The doctors had tried everything they could. But it was clear.

Sasuke Uchiha, at the age of four and twenty was going to become blind the day after.

Sasuke had known this all along.

 _If this is the price I must pay to atone for even a little of my sins, I will gladly do it,_ thought Sasuke with a grim determination and acceptance.

And it was with acceptance that Sasuke Uchiha had spent the seven years of his life after the war. How ironic was it that it was his fading sight that allowed him to see the world again. See light, hope and beauty. All the things that his friend had always seen.

Thinking of his life, the last thought that Sasuke had before falling asleep was, _Even if there were hardships, it has been a good life, hasn't it?_

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, he was standing on a beautiful golden field. Looking around, Sasuke couldn't help but appreciate the blue sky over his head and the softly glowing field. Although, he was puzzled due to the abrupt clarity of his vision.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew, and Sasuke could see some people a short distance away from him.

Sasuke tried to go closer to them but stopped. Something told him to just quietly see and not interfere in the scene playing out before him.

The two figures in front of him, now that Sasuke could see more clearly, were standing together, hands linked.

One had blonde hair and the other was a redhead. The colour of the hair was extremely beautiful, a deep, rich red.

Sasuke shifted his gaze and saw that a third person had now appeared.

The third figure stood still for quite a while, head tilted upward so as to feel the warm rays of the sun hitting his face, and was smiling gently, though Sasuke was not sure how he could see that.

The third figure, revealing itself to be a blonde, moved. It started running towards the other two figures, and tackled both of them in a flying hug.

Sasuke could hear his voice say, amidst soft, happy sobs," I did it, guys. Ero-sennin's dream, your dream, I finally achieved it."

The third figure stepped back wiping his tears. The elder of the two blondes placed a hand on the other blonde's head and gently ruffled his hair. He said proudly, "We knew. We always had faith in you."

The redhead, having been silent all this time, moved forward and hugged the younger blonde tightly and said , "We believed in you, always. But, you stupid child!"

She started sobbing and continued," Why did you have to sacrifice yourself in order to do it? I told you not to come too early!"

The blonde gently grasped her hands and smiling softly and said," I am sorry, Kaa-chan. I really am. But it had to be done. Besides"

He continued in a teasing voice, "Since when have I listened to anyone's orders?"

The redhead chuckled and pulling back from the hug said mock angrily," Disobedient child! I ought to punish you for not listening to your mother!"

Her voice becoming gentle, she said "But still, you are our child. I love you. So, so much."

Those three simple words had such a huge meaning. The younger blonde started crying but even through the tears streaming across his face, he smiled happily and said," I love you too, Kaa-chan."

Turning towards the other blonde, he said "You too, Tou-chan."

It was too much for the both of them. Both of them embraced the blonde in a hug.

Nothing was said for a while. Sasuke, having realised the identity of the figures, was still observing silently.

The older blonde was the first to break the hug. He said gently," Well, come on then. Everyone's waiting."

The redhead too nodded, giving her assent. Slipping her hand in the younger blondes right one, she gazed at the other with an imploring look.

The older blonde chuckled and slipped his hand in the blonde's left hand.

Together, the three of them started walking away, slowly disappearing from sight, but not before Sasuke caught a final glimpse. The figure in the middle seemed to be growing smaller in size and when Sasuke blinked, he could swear he saw the figure of a child in place of the teenager before.

The trio had already vanished from sight when Sasuke closed his eyes again. He let out a long sigh, feeling happy to see that his friend was happy now.

Opening his eyes, Sasuke turned and almost blanched when he saw someone standing right next to him.

Sunshine blonde hair, sky blue eyes and three whisker marks. Sasuke whispered, shocked," Naruto..." This was Naruto, no doubt. The very same young man who had played such a vital role in the Fourth Shinobi War.

Naruto grinned( which made the hole in Sasuke burn once more due to its familiarity) and said "In the flesh, Sasuke. Though, not quite in the flesh.."he trailed off.

Sasuke, now in better control of himself, said "So, does that mean that I am dead too?"

Naruto smiled and said, "That depends."

Sasuke sighed at his friend's vague answer.

Naruto said nothing but sat down and patted the space next to him. Sasuke understanding the gesture, took a seat beside him.

Naruto turned to Sauske and said," So, what happened after the war, teme? Tell me about it. "

So, Sasuke spoke. He didn't mean to reveal everything but he did. He spoke about how he felt when Naruto died, how the others felt. He then continued on to describe the life back in Konoha and the state of the world. The world had been in peace, the likes of which had never been seen before.

When Naruto heard this, he let out a soft satisfied sigh.

Sasuke continued. He described how the others were doing, and how he was doing. Sasuke told Naruto about all that he had seen in the last seven years, from big to small. And he also told Naruto about his deteriorating sight, even though Naruto already knew about that.

After talking for what felt like hours, he stopped.

Sasuke then asked, "Why did you do it, Naruto? Why did you give me seven years? I deserved to be blind, for everything that I have done. You already had to lose your life but I had to lose only my eyes. I..." Unable to say anything further, he clenched his fists tightly.

Naruto smiled and said," I thought that you deserved another chance, Sasuke. Another chance to see world. This time, _actually_ _seeing_ it, without all your hatred."

Sasuke sighed shakily and said,"You damn idiot."

The two descended into peaceful silence for a little while.

It was Sasuke who broke the silence first.

Turning towards Naruto, Sasuke asked suddenly, "Are you happy, Naruto?"

Naruto, puzzled at his friends abrupt question, asked, "What?"

Sasuke repeated his question,"Are you happy, Naruto? Now and here?"

Naruto smiled gently and said," I am. More than I have ever been."

The answer seemed to satisfy Sasuke.

Narut said Sasuke," I really am glad that you are living, finally. But, Sasuke, you have to stop regretting things. It was not your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. Things happen, Sasuke. "

His tone turning serious, he said, "Promise me that you won't live life with regret. Move past the pain, Sasuke. Endure. Because that is what we as Shinobi do. We endure. Promise me that you will live, for the both of us."

Sasuke nodded solemnly and whispered, "It's a promise, Naruto. I don't go back on my word."

Naruto laughed.

Both of them stood up.

Turning to Sasuke, Naruto said, "It's not your time yet, Sasuke. You have to go back."

Sasuke said nothing. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and opening them, said, " Alright. "

Naruto said, "So, I guess this is goodbye then."

Sasuke smirked and said, "Idiot. Its not goodbye. Its _See you again_."

Naruto smiled.

 _Take care, Sasuke. Don't come too soon, Kay?_

 _Goodbye, Naruto. Thank you._

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the Uchiha compound. However, there was something different about his surroundings.

It took Sasuke a minute or two to comprehend what Naruto had done for him.

But when he did, he started laughing.

With tears streaming down his face, Sasuke said, "You stubborn dead last. Always the one for miracles, weren't you, Naruto?"

Moving outside, Sasuke gazed up at the blue sky.

For the first time in years, the future looked bright.

 **Author's note: So, how was it?**

 **This is kind of a companion fic for my other story, "The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto."**

 **As you might have guessed from the summary, this fix was kinda inspired by the song 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa.**

 **This is also a tribute to the anime Naruto Shippuden.**

 **As always, please read, review and enjoy.**

 **This is SunlitSky21, signing out...**


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